View full sizeErik Holladay / Special to the GazetteWestern Michigan's Austin Richie hangs on to a loose ball with the help from teammates Matt Stainbrook, left, and Mike Douglas during the first half of the Broncos' win over Southern Illinois Sunday at University Arena.

KALAMAZOO — For a coach who’d just won a college basketball game, Steve Hawkins looked worn out by what transpired Sunday.

This group of Western Michigan University men’s basketball players has never made winning an offensive art form — even late last season, when the Broncos were winning regularly.

Sunday, nothing again came easy, other than piece of mind in knowing the opponent had a long-running philosophy against making baskets.

The Broncos outworked a Southern Illinois team that has little but effort left in its program, pulling away late for a 54-43 win at University Arena.

It was only WMU’s second win — its first against Division I competition — and its second home game, following an early season schedule that left it short on confidence and sick of airplanes.

“It’s really big for the kids,” Hawkins said of Sunday’s result, which leaves the Broncos entering final exams week at 2-7. “For them, I’m really, really happy. And playing at home, it’s a comforting win. And the way we won resembled the way we play — a lot of loose balls, offensive rebounds, gritty defenses, staying in a stance, the effort areas, grinding it out. That’s Bronco basketball. It’s served us pretty well through the years.”

It was nothing like how WMU played in Thursday’s 92-81 loss at Detroit, nor was the opponent capable of putting up 61 points in a half, as the Titans did.

But the Broncos won Sunday for the reasons they lost Thursday. They never gave up on possessions.

WMU out-rebounded the Salukis 47-30, including a 16-12 edge on the offensive glass — typified by what Hawkins called “maybe the play of the game.”

View full sizeErik Holladay / Special to the GazetteWestern Michigan's Muhammed Conteh is fouled after faking a shot against Southern Illinois' Antonio Bryer.

With the Broncos once relatively sizable lead teetering anywhere from one to four points (a manageable deficit even for SIU), David Brown dove out of bounds to save a Nate Hutcheson missed 3-point attempt. He then returned to the court in time to bury a triple try of his own from the left wing.

And with that, WMU’s lead was 45-38 with 3:24 remaining. In this game, against this foe, the advantage might as well have 20.

“That wouldn’t have happened at Detroit the other night, when you walk about effort and (being) a little bit lethargic,” Hawkins said.

“David Brown first of all has to go get the ball. But also, people have to rally anticipating he may get there and save it. And Demetrius (Ward) sprinted over to a spot where it could be saved to him, too.

“I don’t know why this is, but normally the guy who gives the most in a game ends up receiving. That was just a great example of it.”

Brown gave a ton Sunday. The redshirt sophomore, once the top-rated high school recruit in Illinois outside of the city of Chicago, scored a season-high 11 points, while pulling down a career-best 12 rebounds.

His five offensive boards, many on leaping efforts on long caroms, brought back memories of former WMU high-riser Shawntes Gary.

“It was a different type of ball game,” said Brown, who started his third game of the season, this one at shooting guard. “Our shots weren’t falling like they usually do and we were getting a little frustrated. But that first media timeout and at halftime, we stuck together, told each other, ‘Hey relax, those shots are going to fall sooner or later. Don’t worry about it. Keep playing hard, keep playing defense, getting stops and everything will turn out for the better.’”

It did, but midway through the first half, with the scoreboard stuck and 5-5, one had to wonder if the loss of power forward Flenard Whitfield to a severely sprained left ankle was something this already struggling Bronco team couldn’t overcome.

“Playing without Flen, it was very hard,” Brown said. “It was really sad to see him go out in practice with a really bad ankle injury. That was more motivation for us. A lot of people think we’re not that good without Flen.”

View full sizeErik Holladay / Special to the GazetteWMU's Nate Hutcheson soars for a second-half layup against Southern Illinois.

“There’s definitely a lot more pressure on you when Flen’s not in there,” said Stainbrook, who finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks, but also five turnovers. “That was one of the most aggressive doubles I’ve seen. They weren’t trying to contain me or anything. They were coming to get me, trying to get the ball.”

Defensively, the Whitfield’s injury left the Broncos with a matchup issue against SIU’s leading scorer, Mamadou Seck. WMU countered with its shooting guard, literally, moving Ward and his 227-pound frame into the post.

“We were concerned with Stainbrook or (Shayne) Whittington or (Muhammed) Conteh or (Dan) Loney matching up with Seck,” Hawkins said of his taller defensive options. “We felt like either Demetrius or Hutch had a better chance at guarding Seck, as more of a guard and getting up underneath him.”

Seck finished with 15 points and eight rebounds — near his averages — but made only 6 of 15 attempts from the floor. Ward led all scorers with 16.

In all, the Salukis shot 28 percent. They didn’t score their 10th point until there were less than 2 minutes left until halftime.

“We didn’t have the confidence to take or make a shot,” said Lowery, who lauded his team’s defensive play. “We got into trouble, dribbled ourselves into trouble and that allowed them to get a few run-outs here and there. But we missed some layups, too.“Our guys, how hard they play has not wavered. We’ve just got to get better offensively.”

That was the Salukis' issue even when they were winning NCAA tournament games four years ago. After Thursday’s first-half debacle in Detroit, the Broncos weren’t in the mood to help SIU suddenly fix it on the fly in Kalamazoo.

“I thought the kids did a great job of executing the game plan and played with a lot of energy,” Hawkins said. “It was good, really good response to how poorly we played the other night at Detroit.”